Defiance
by fluffmonster
Summary: For Blind Mag, working for GeneCo had become more like serving a prison sentence than fulfilling a contract. Chapter three is up.
1. Chapter 1

Mag's thoughts were a whirlwind as she made her way to the office of Rotti Largo. She didn't know why he had asked her to see him, but she knew that it couldn't be anything pleasant. She entered the office and sat in the chair opposite Rotti at his desk.

"You wanted to see me?" she asked.

He had been watching something on his screen behind his desk when entered, but now he had spun his chair around to face her and was motioning for his guards to exit the office. Mag's heart began to race when she realized what was coming next.

Once the guards were gone, Rotti beckoned Mag to come closer to him. She hesitated at first, but eventually stood and made her way around the desk to where he was sitting. He placed his hands on her hips and stood as well. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead and she cringed. When he went to kiss her lips, she turned her head, denying him access. He was frustrated, but remained calm. He put a hand on her chin and turned her head to face him before trying to kiss her again.

"Please Rotti, don't…" she pleaded, as she continued to struggle against him.

His frustration turned to anger, and he slapped her across her face. She tried to fight back tears, but one escaped and rolled down her cheek. Rotti put his hand to Mag's face to brush it away, with a tenderness that made her stomach turn. There was still anger in his voice when he spoke,

"You will do as you are told." he sneered.

She slowly nodded and let him have his way. She doesn't even know why she tries to resist anymore. She knows that she never really has a choice in the matter, because what Rotti Largo wants, he gets. She thought of Marni, and wondered if it was anything like this when she was with him. Marni always spoke well of Rotti; never mentioning the monster behind his mask. Mag now understood a little more, the reasons that Marni left this terrible man. She wished that she could leave him too. She willed herself to think of something, anything to take her mind off of Rotti and her situation. She wanted so desperately to break free from the hold he had over her, but what could she do?

_Wait…_she thought, _an old friend still works for GeneCo, someone Rotti favored. Maybe he could bring Rotti to his senses; or at least try to help me get out of this mess. But would he even bother? It's been so long…Well, it's worth a try. And it would be nice to see him again. I wonder how he's holding up?_

She made up her mind to pay Nathan Wallace a visit that night.


	2. Chapter 2

She stood before the gates, still unsure of her decision to come here. A place she once knew very well. She shuddered as memories came flooding back, memories that her eyes wouldn't let her forget. With a shaky hand, Mag outstretched a finger to press the intercom button. She waited a few moments before she received her answer.

"Wallace residence."

"It's Mag. I'd like to see you."

"Mag? Just a moment." He replied before granting her entry through the gates.

She could feel her heart beat faster with every step towards the door. She shouldn't have been nervous visiting an old friend, but she was going to be asking a lot of him tonight, not knowing what his answer may be. He was the only one that could possibly help her now.

As the door creaked open, revealing the man she had come to see, she let the sight of him sink in. At first glance, he was the familiar old friend that she had known since their youth. When she studied his face though, she could see the worrying wrinkles in his forehead, and the fear in his eyes. He looked worn and weary.

"Hello Mag." He greeted as he stepped aside to let her in.

"Nathan, it's good to see you again."

"You too." He replied.

He took her coat and hung it on the rack next to his. Mag avoided trying to make any more small talk, because she disliked it just as much as she knew he did.

"Let's go see her." She said, as more of an offer than a statement. He nodded in agreement and led her through the door to Marni's grave. This is nothing new for them. After Marni passed, Mag would visit at least once a week to mourn the loss of her friend and to reminisce the memories of their friendship. Secretly, she also visited to see how Nathan was, and how he was handling it. She was worried about him, and he knew it, but they never talked about it. No, sometimes they never talked at all during these visits. Just shared each other's company, remembering one of the strongest connections between them was buried at their feet.

After a while, they agreed that the memories conjured by these visits were making it harder to move on. Besides, Mag had not been able to visit as often because GeneCo was beginning to monopolize her time. They said their goodbyes, and that was the last time they saw each other. Mag would still come to Marni's grave when she got the chance, but she would go alone. After paying her respects, she would leave three flowers at the door; two for Marni and Shilo, and the third to let Nathan know that she was still thinking of him.

Here they were, years later, standing side by side and not saying a word. Instead, they fell into the still vaguely familiar routine that they had once known so well. The silence was growing more uncomfortable by the second, so Mag began to explain why she had come to see him.

"Nathan, I know we have been out of touch for quite some time, but there is something I must ask of you." She said.

"Mag-" he started, but she cut him off

"Please, let me finish. It's about Rotti. As you know, I've been working for GeneCo for a while now, and it's alright for the most part. But, he's taking advantage of me. He's been using me to…service his needs." Tears were welling in her eyes, and this time she let them fall. "I don't know what to do. I need to get away from this; away from him. Can you help me?"

Not quite sure what to do, Nathan tentatively placed a hand on Mag's back as he stepped closer to her, drawing her into an embrace. She placed her head to his chest, and he could feel her sobs lessen as she tried to control her breathing again. He stepped back, but kept his hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes as he spoke.

"Mag, I'm not sure that I can help you here. You know that Rotti is my boss as well, and I can't just waltz in and tell him what to do. Besides, I still don't think he's gotten over Marni and I being together. He's as bitter as ever Mag."

"Can't you see Nate? He's taking that anger out on me! I thought you might be able to get through to him. Please, you are my only hope."

"I…I can't. I'm sorry." He replied coldly, and removed his hands from her shoulders.

Mag was hurt by the indifference in her friend's voice, but she had no choice but to accept his answer.

"I understand. I should be going then." She said as she made her way back to the main room of the house to retrieve her coat and leave. He spoke again as he opened the door and held it for her.

"What are you going to do now? I'm worried for you Mag."

She turned to face him once more, and took one of his hands into hers before answering. "Don't worry about me, I'll find a way to handle it." She said, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. "It really was good to see you again Nathan." She dropped his hand back to his side and left to face Rotti Largo herself.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: My apologies for the delay, hopefully this chapter will make up for it. Thanks to __CharlemagneGrey__ and the various other readers that nudged me along, and encouraged me to keep writing._

* * *

Mag tried to push the thoughts of her meeting with Nathan out of her mind as she made her way to the office of Rotti Largo. She realized that she didn't have much of a plan as to what she was going to do or say. All she knew was that she had to do this.

She arrived at the office to find Rotti Largo, along with his three children. Pavi greeted her with a smile, Luigi sheathed his knife, and Amber just scowled. Mag faked a smile to the three of them, before addressing the man she came to see.

"I need to speak with you." She said.

"Very well," he replied, "Children, would you excuse us?"

They began to protest, but a warning look from Rotti sent the three of them running for the door.

"Mag, my dear, what a pleasant surprise. What's on your mind?" He asked with a smile. The pleasantness in his voice was so uncharacteristic of him compared to their last encounter, and Mag could already see the lechery in his eyes. She was reminded of the last time she had been in this room. It made her feel sick, and that was just one more reason to leave this place and never look back.

"It's about me. Well, my singing really. I've been here for a long time Rotti, seventeen years now, and I don't want to do this anymore. I want out."

Rotti looked puzzled for a moment, before his face resolved into laughter.

"You must be joking. This isn't something you just walk away from."

"Yes, I know. I thought that with our history, there was a chance you would be more appeasing. Please, let me go, Rotti."

This drove him over the edge to pure rage. He was seething as he spoke through clenched teeth.

"Let you go?! I _made_ you! Without me, you would still be a blind girl on the streets. I gave you everything you have. You _belong_ to me!"

"Rotti, I am forever grateful to you for giving me the gift of sight, but that us all that I owe you. For years I kept silent while you took advantage of me. It has been long enough. I served you without question for seventeen years, and now I just want to live my own life; GeneCo-free."

"This is a lifelong contract, Mag. Early termination has consequences." Rotti said in his best waning voice.

"That's a chance that I'm willing to take." She replied.

"I see that you have already made up your mind," He said, as he walked towards her, "But this was not your decision to make." He moved faster than Mag had ever seen him move before as he circled a hand around her neck and began to squeeze.

"Mag, you will _always_ belong to me. I was left once by someone that was very dear to both of us, and look what became of her. You wouldn't want that for yourself, now would you?"

Mag's eyes widened as she frantically tried to free herself from Rotti's grip around her neck, but it was no use.

"I thought not. You were always a smart girl, Mag. So you should know that it would be in your best interest to never try a silly thing like this again. Now, I believe you need to be taught a lesson, don't you?"

Rotti threw her to the floor, and began to force himself upon her. He held her arms down to keep her from fighting back. She fought against him as hard as she could, but to no avail. As she continued to struggle, she managed to free one of her arms and, with all of her might, sent a fist hurtling into Rotti's chest. He fell to the floor next to her, coughing and sputtering, unable to catch his breath. Mag got up and ran as fast as she could for the elevator, and got in.

The ride to the floor took an eternity. She hoped that had acted quickly enough to outrun the GeneCops that she knew Rotti would send after her. As soon as the doors opened, Mag rushed out of the elevator. In her hurry, she ran straight into someone. She began to apologize, but a familiar voice spoke,

"It's quite alright."

"Nathan…what are you doing here?"

"I'm, uh, delivering something to Rotti." He said, holding up a container she did not recognize. Nathan could tell that something was wrong, and he remembered the conversation he had with Mag only a day before.

"You really did it. You came here to tell him you were leaving, didn't you?" He asked.

Mag just nodded, and Nathan knew that even though she had made it out of Rotti's office with her life, she would be in danger before long. He stopped a Gentern that was passing by and handed her his container.

"Get this to Mr. Largo right away."

The young girl nodded and hurried off. Nathan put his arm around Mag's shoulders, and guided her towards the front doors of the building.

"Come on, let's get out of here."


	4. Chapter 4

The car ride from the company to Nathan's home was fairly silent, since neither Nathan nor Mag really knew what to say. She was still shaken by what had happened, and Nathan was still shocked that she had done it.

"I hope you don't mind staying here for a night, Mag."

"No, of course. My house probably won't be safe for me to return to for a while. I'm just glad you're okay with this. I mean, things didn't really go so well last time I was here." She sighed.

"No, I suppose not. But hopefully we can put that behind us for now. Here, let me show you to your room." Nathan said, as he guided Mag upstairs to the guest room. When they arrived, he went to the closet and retrieved a gown for her.

"Here, take this. It, uh…was Marni's." He offered the gown to her, but she didn't move. He could tell that whatever happened between her and Rotti was still troubling her. "Look, Mag, I can't stop thinking about what I said before. I'm so sorry that I didn't help you. I really didn't think that it was that bad. I-"

Before thinking twice, Mag pulled Nathan into an embrace. She knew she had caught him off guard so, when she finally felt him relax, she just hugged him tighter.

"It's okay, Nathan, it wasn't your fault." She pulled back, and sat on the bed. "We can talk about it later, okay? Thank you, for everything."

Nathan did his best to put on a smile. "If you need anything else, let me know, okay?"

She nodded as she took the gown from him, and shooed him out of the room. "Goodnight, Nathan."

Mag changed into the clothes he had given her, and got into bed. She tossed and turned for what seemed like hours, but couldn't fall asleep. She got up and walked downstairs being careful not to make any sound, as she made her way to Marni's tomb.

She pulled open the door, and made sure to close it behind her. Mag sat at the foot of her friend's grave, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her head on them. She had been here just a few days ago, but that was different. She was more focused on getting help then, she didn't actually spend much time here, with Marni.

The door cracked open, startling Mag.

"Mag? Hey, it's just me; I heard you come downstairs. What are you doing in here so late?" Nathan asked, seeing that he had alarmed her.

"Oh, hi, Nathan. Sorry, I thought I had been stealthier. I couldn't sleep, so, I thought I could come keep Marni company for a while." She said, smiling.

"I'm sure she appreciates it." He looked off in thought for a moment. "I'll be right back." He said. Sure enough, Nathan returned a minute later carrying a bottle and two glasses. "Fancy a drink?"

"Sure." She replied.

Nathan sat down next to Mag, offering her a glass as she sat up, cross-legged. He poured the amber liquid into her glass, then into his. They began to sip their drinks in silence, reminiscent of the last time they were here together. Nathan was still regretting what he had said, and how he had refused to help Mag when she needed him most.

"What really happened at GeneCo, Mag? Before I got there?"

"Are you sure you want to know?" She asked. Nathan nodded. Mag took another sip of her drink, and began her story.

"Well, after I left here, I went home for a while. Wondering whether or not I really wanted to leave. When I made up my mind, I decided to talk to Rotti right away, while I still had the courage. So, I headed over to GeneCo the next day, went straight to Rotti's office, and told him I wanted out." She smiled. "He laughed; thought I was kidding. When I finally convinced him that I was serious, he lost it. He said that I _belonged_ to him, and that he _made_ me. Then he, um, tried to have his way with me again. I got away before anything happened, but I'm sure he'll be sending his people after me soon."

Nathan's eyes widened in shock and he put his arm around Mag, hoping to comfort her. "God, Mag, I'm so, so sorry. I knew I should have helped. You tried to tell me, but I just wouldn't listen"

"No, you didn't know. You were right; he's the most powerful man on Sanitarium Island. I shouldn't have expected you to run to my rescue just because I asked; especially after all this time. Besides, it's done. No need to dwell on it."

"That may be true, but like you said, he's not going to let it go. Let me help you now. I can get you out of here. Out of Rotti's grasp." Nathan pleaded.

"Okay," She replied. "What's the plan then?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I'll think of something. I think we could both use some sleep though. Here, let me help you up." He said, as he grabbed the bottle and stood. Nathan reached out to take Mag's hand and helped her to her feet, placing her drinking glass inside his. He closed the door behind them as they left the mausoleum, and set the glasses on the kitchen counter along with the bottle. Placing a hand on Mag's back, he ascended the stairs with her; escorting her back to the guest room.

"Goodnight, Nathan…again." She chuckled.

"See you in the morning, Mag."


End file.
